


We All Have Our Vices

by LittleBaguette



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Addiction, Bittersweet, Character Study, Cigarettes, F/M, Gambling, Hurt/Comfort, I will fill this tag all by myself if it kills me, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Pillow Talk, Politics, Post-Coital Cuddling, Romance, Size Difference, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 15:38:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13684644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleBaguette/pseuds/LittleBaguette
Summary: Monaco gambles to excess. Russia drinks more than he should.Despite their faults, they manage to find solace within each other's arms.Moody RusMona pillow talk written for Valentines' Day 2018





	We All Have Our Vices

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Happy Valentines Day! ♥
> 
> Have some bittersweet RusMona comfort and pillow talk to celebrate! I don't have much to say about this fic aside from the fact that I managed to write it entirely in one afternoon! Woohoo! o/ 
> 
> As usual, if you're a newcomer to this ship (and my writing): 
> 
> My headcanon for Monaco's human name is _Angélique de la Roche_
> 
>  _zaika/zaika moya_ = bunny/my bunny (as a russian term of endearment)  
>  _chéri_ = darling (as a french term of endearment, masculine form)
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this! don't hesitate to leave a comment if you do! ♥ Reblog [this post](https://baguettewrites.tumblr.com/post/170886023612/we-all-have-our-vices-read-on-ao3-one-shot-a) on Tumblr to share it, too! ♥
> 
> -Baguette

* * *

Angélique always liked having cigarettes after sex.

Ivan didn’t like the pompous, expensive ones his lover smoked, so he always had his own packet somewhere in the pockets of his coat. This time, however, he didn’t feel like smoking. He simply breathed heavily, simmering down from the physical efforts of their previous tryst.

Lilac eyes studied the small woman who laid in bed next to him, her back supported by duck feather pillows, the once-fresh sheets of her bed covering the lower part of her body- She held her thin cigarette between her fingers, her wrist bent at an elegant angle, as though the ubiquitous air of grace that exuded from her was not the result of hours upon hours of training. Ivan wondered, truly, how Angélique could appear to be so poised and elegant even after a session of tumultuous lovemaking. Her face was flushed and her usually impeccably coiffed hair was let down, only slightly messed up by their gallivanting, but she remained a statuesque figure of what many desired to perceive as _beauty_.

With her cigarette between her lips, she glanced back at Ivan and exhaled the toxic smoke, her shoulders relaxing as she settled the burning stump that remained in the ashtray set upon her bedside table.

“You’re staring again, Ivan,” cooed the small woman with a slight smirk on her faded red lips. She sunk under the sheets, playfully denying Ivan the sight of her breasts. “What are you thinking about?”

The Russian blinked a little before he chuckled weakly, propping himself up on his elbow as he leaned over her, a large hand going to brush a lock of hair out of her face as gently as he could- He wasn’t a very delicate man but he could _try_.

And try he did. He couldn’t afford to crack the porcelain doll that would willingly sit in his lap without the fear of being broken. Ivan loved beautiful things…beautiful people. He never wanted to ruin that beauty.

He leaned closer again and kissed her forehead as her hand snaked up his arm to rest on the back of his shoulder. Slipping back from under the covers, Angélique snuggled up to her lover, gently pressing herself to him before she looked up, insisting on her previous inquiry.

“Well?”

“I wasn’t thinking about anything. I was just looking at you,” he told her with a kiss to the side of her head. “You...You shouldn’t smoke as much as you do.”

“Why? Is it _bad for my health_ ?” she asked him, poking his nose. “ _Please_ , you know our kind doesn’t suffer like humans do. And… besides, it helps me soothe my nerves.”

“One has to wonder what you do to make yourself so anxious.” Ivan replied, straightening his position in bed. He quickly glanced around at her lavish bedroom, the Rococo-style vanity in the corner of her room, the door to her walk-in dressing room, the bay windows that let to a balcony that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea… She had an easy, luxurious life compared to other Nations. While he often assumed she didn’t deserve the right to complain, he knew better than to judge. He genuinely wanted to know.

Angélique sighed and pressed her forehead to Ivan’s shoulder, shaking her head.

“It was the poker game, earlier. If you hadn’t convinced me to pull away I would have lost so much money, Ivan… so much.”

It wasn’t the answer he was expecting but… It was a start. Her affinity for gambling was a dangerous one. Even if she had more than enough money to spend on that hobby, they both knew she could lose ungodly sums if she didn’t count cards the way she usually did, or if she came across someone who knew how to push her from the top of her house of cards. She was a prodigy, but she had her limits. Ivan knew this. Angélique still refused to acknowledge this.

Angélique was the kind of gambler who would corner Lady Luck and gut her for what she was worth, consuming  everything she could, pushing her own fortune to its limits. It was an _obsession_.

Certainly, one could say that all this was _poppycock_ compared to the stress and the weight of responsibilities put upon the shoulders of her fellow Nations- Ivan could be the first to complain. His country was a mess of corruption, poverty and class warfare that left a bitter, familiar taste in his mouth and led him to drink. He was fortunate to end up among the upper classes after the fall of the Union, his place secured by his governmental ties, but… it felt wrong.

It felt so _wrong_.

He was in bed with a woman he _adored_ , but a woman who represented everything wrong with the inequalities of this world. He could only close his eyes to the extravagant delicacies of the rich and famous for so long before he needed to drown himself in pure ethanol.

He didn’t hate Angélique, no. He simply hated the conflicting feelings that stirred within his gut when guilt came to grip at his throat.

All he could do was ignore his own guilt. He was with his lover, wasn’t he? She laid there in his arms without flinching or pulling away.She didn’t reject him. She loved him. She was _his_.

And he was _hers_.

She soothed his sorrows just as her cigarettes and champagne soothed her own. She was his saving grace, truly, she was. She helped him forget how miserable he could be, at times.

“You shouldn’t get so pent-up over card games, _zaika_.” muttered Ivan in an effort to make her feel a little better. He didn’t want to see her upset. Not now, not when they should be having idle pillow talk and kissing each other until sunrise.

Then again, Ivan was grateful they could be somewhat honest with each other. At least, more honest than they were with their other peers.   
He kissed her again and she nodded, deciding it was useless to defend her passion for gambling at this point. Angélique simply revelled in the feeling of comfort and safety she found in his arms. She was grateful there was someone out there who gave her advice she was willing to accept. A man who didn’t push and order her around. Ivan didn’t treat her like she was incapable or stupid. She appreciated that.

Pressing another kiss to his lips, she gave him a bit of a look, a pout souring her features before she spoke again.

“You don’t gamble as much as I do, you don’t understand… It’s all I have.” she told him, cupping his face in her small hands.

“It’s true but- Ange. You were shaking like an addict that needs his fix. I was worried.”

“It’s just the adrenaline, _chéri_ , it’s just that. I’m fine. I’m _fine_.”

Ivan looked over her and tugged her into his lap, hugging her close and stroking her hair before she continued.

“We all have our vices. You drink, I gamble... It could be worse,” she uttered softly, running a hand through his hair before she kissed his cheek. Looking back up, she saw their reflection in the mirror of her vanity in the corner of the room, lips pressed into a pout before she gave a weak smile. Ivan glanced over to what she was looking at, a weak grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“You’re right. It could be worse. I could be drunk _right now_ and then forget about everything tomorrow,” he told her, resting his hand on her thigh, holding her firmly in his lap. “... and God knows I don’t want to forget the nights we spend together.”

She pecked his lips again and pressed herself to him, curling a little as she moved to rest her head on his shoulder, kissing his scarred neck, resting there for a moment before Ivan picked her up and placed her back down on the bed, kissing her again and again and listening to her soft, delightful noises she made before he pulled away and pressed his lips to her forehead instead.

“You should sleep,” he said softly.

“So should you-” Angélique immediately replied, her hand reaching up to stroke his cheek “You look tired.”

“I’m always tired, _zaika_. Always.”

Angélique sighed softly and nodded, gently tugging at Ivan’s shoulders, inviting him to join her under the covers. He followed with her desires and joined her under the sheets that were tainted with their sweat and her expensive perfume. Her perfume… Oh, how he adored it. So many women wore Chanel but only Miss Monaco knew how to make it _hers_.

He held her close, hugging her against his body as he kissed her forehead again.

“Ivan…” murmured the small woman nestled in his arms, calling his name as she had many times before.

“Hm?”

“Make love to me in the morning.”

With a weak grin, Ivan chuckled and nodded. Such a demanding little darling was she- He couldn’t help but find it endearing.

“I’d love to.” •••♣


End file.
